Tony Ryan
Irish businessman (1936–2007)
Thomas Anthony Ryan (2 February 1936 – 3 October 2007) was an Irish billionaire businessman and philanthropist who co-founded Ryanair in 1984 along with cofounders Christy Ryan and Liam Lonergan (owner of Irish travel agent Club Travel), 9 years after founding Guinness Peat Aviation an international aircraft leasing industry. Through Guinness Peat Aviation and Ryanair, he amassed two fortunes by identifying gaps in the market. Ryanair was believed to be the main source of his wealth in later life: the company became one of the biggest airlines in Europe and was worth approximately $13 billion at the time of his death.
Early life
Ryan was born at Limerick Junction, County Tipperary on 2 February 1936; his father was a train driver. Around 1945 the family moved to Thurles in the same county, and he attended the Christian Brothers school there. His hopes of attending university were ended by the death of his father, and instead he joined Aer Lingus as a dispatch clerk, and was selected as a management trainee.
Business career
Ryan progressed through station manager roles to become, in 1968, Aer Lingus station manager at JFK Airport, New York. The family returned to Ireland in 1972, where by chance he filled a vacancy in aircraft leasing, finding uses for aircraft that were surplus to the airline's requirements during the cyclical downturn.
In 1975, with financial support from Aer Lingus and the Guinness Peat Group, he founded the aircraft leasing company Guinness Peat Aviation (later GPA Group), raising $5,000 for his 10% shareholding. GPA grew to be the world's biggest aircraft lessor, its activities including wet leasing.
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